1. Technical Field
This invention is directed toward a hockey puck. The invention is more particularly directed toward a practice hockey puck. The practice hockey puck can be used by a player to practice puck handling skills with a hockey stick.
2. Background Art
Young hockey players like to emulate the professional hockey players. They see the players picking up the puck on the blade of their stick, to hand it to the referee for example, and try to do the same. They also would like to stickhandle the puck back and forth with their stick as the professionals do. These puck handling skills are difficult to practice however with a regular hockey puck.
To normally practice picking up a puck with his stick, a player places the front of the blade of his stick flat on the top of the puck on the ice. He then applies pressure to one side of the puck with the edge of the blade on that side to pivot or tip the puck about its lower edge up on its side. From its on-side position, with the blade now positioned against the top of the puck, the blade is moved against the puck with its bottom edge leading while rotating the blade up to a horizontal position. This movement tips the puck back against the direction of blade movement to have the puck fall flat on top of the blade. It is difficult for a young player to get a feel for the amount of pressure to be applied, and where and how the pressure should be applied, on a regular puck with the stick to tip the puck onto its side.
Young players often practice stickhandling with a regular puck in the basement, on concrete, or on the driveway, on asphalt. The players tend to turn the blade of the hockey stick over slightly contacting the upper edge of the puck to slide it from side to side. However, the pucks do not slide well on concrete or asphalt and the force applied to the upper edge of the puck by the blade of the stick often tips or tumbles the puck about its bottom edge opposite the side of the upper edge where the stick blade contacts the puck. Tipping or tumbling pucks make it difficult to practice stickhandling.